by Sylviane Diouf, Director, Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery, Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureMarch 27, 2015

The Director of the Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture shares her keynote address to the UN General Assembly on Women and Slavery.Read More ›

by Sylviane Diouf, Director, Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery, Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureDecember 15, 2014

On December 9, ambassadors, UN dignitaries, students, and others, gathered in the Langston Hughes atrium for a pre-event to Human Rights Day and to the official takeoff of the International Decade for People of African Descent, both happening the following day. Read More ›

by Sylviane Diouf, Director, Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery, Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureOctober 17, 2014

The Schomburg Center's exhibition Africans in India: A Rediscovery recently opened in New Delhi, India's capital, against a backdrop of racist attacks against Africans. The contrast between the African experience of yesterday and that of today could not have been greater and the exhibition could not have come at a more appropriate time.Read More ›

“When you think about the Underground Railroad, it is a land based operation, moving from one section of the country (where slavery exists) to another where it doesn’t take place—You must negotiate the land to get your freedom. We haven’t focused in on the land itself in the exploration of the Underground Railroad. When you start to read the land you come up with some different conclusions." Hear more from the author on Tuesday, February 11 at 4 p.m. Read More ›

by Sylviane Diouf, Director, Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery, Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureDecember 6, 2013

I learned of Nelson Mandela’s passing while waiting for my delayed flight at Atlanta Airport. I thought how much his painful and extraordinary life had exposed the terrible danger that faced those who fought for the rights, the dignity and the freedom of people of African origin or descent. That despairing reality was made all the more vivid because I was coming back to New York after several days spent with Kathleen Cleaver, immersed in documents and photographs from the Black

by Sylviane Diouf, Director, Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery, Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureOctober 13, 2013

This week, 1.5 billion Muslims will celebrate Eid-al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, or Tabaski as it is known in West Africa. Very few among them will have a thought for the hundreds of thousands of enslaved West Africans who, during almost four centuries, practiced Islam in the Americas. Although they left significant marks of their faith, cultures, and traditions, the Africans who first brought Islam to these shores have been mostly forgotten.Read More ›

"If we had said 'Negro power' nobody would get scared. Everybody would support it. If we said power for colored people, everybody would be for that, but it is the word 'black' that bothers people in this country, and that's their problem, not mine." —Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) at UC Berkeley, 1966

Stokely Carmichael by Lynn B. PadweBlack Rio Scene by Almir VeigaJames Brown released "I'm Black and I'm Proud" during the height of the Black Power Movement in the United States in 1968. Brown's in-your-face approach to racial pride resonated

by Sylviane Diouf, Director, Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery, Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureMay 2, 2013

May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. What better time to discover or learn more about Afro-Asians? As our groundbreaking exhibition Africans in India shows, some became navy commanders, army generals, and founders of dynasties. In Ahmedabad, in the Indian state of Gujarat, they left an impressive architectural legacy. Today, some Sidis live there in a small compound where they proudly maintain their culture.Read More ›

by Sylviane Diouf, Director, Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery, Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureMarch 11, 2013

Generals, commanders, admirals, prime ministers, and rulers, East Africans greatly distinguished themselves in India. They wrote a story unparalleled in the rest of the world — that of enslaved Africans attaining the pinnacle of military and political authority not only in a foreign country but also on another continent. Come discover their extraordinary story in a groundbreaking exhibition at the Schomburg Center — on view from February 1 to July 6 — and on March 21, join Dr. Faeeza Jasdanwalla, a descendant of the African dynasty of Janjira for a conversation on this

African Burial Ground Map OverlayWe met at the Chambers Street IRT subway station — Lynn Jencks, descendant of an early Dutch family, and me, descendant of Lenape, Dutch and Africans. About 400 years ago, Dutch and enslaved Africans arrived into the ancient Algonquian wilderness that became New York City. Lynn, who lives in Illinois, had never been to the property owned by her ancestors and worked upon by slaves.

"Christopher guided me out of the subway and we emerged into the crisp clear December

by Sylviane Diouf, Director, Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery, Schomburg Center for Research in Black CultureOctober 4, 2012

Digital Schomburg's online exhibitions on various aspects of the black experience have truly become a global phenomenon. They are attracting visitors from all over the world. From Argentina to Zimbabwe and Montenegro and the Maldives in between. What do they know that perhaps you don't?

As a young girl growing up in Jamaica — and later in Brooklyn, NY — I often heard the poetry of Louise Bennett (Jamaicans affectionately call her "Miss Lou") permeate the air. One of my earliest recollections of Miss Lou’s lyricism was hearing the term mout amassi (big mouth). The term comes from the title of one of her most popular poems about a young lady, Liza, who loves to gossip and chat.